(NNPA)—When we reflect on the civil rights struggle within this nation, we often focus—and rightfully so—on the works of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In school, students learn of the boycotts and sit-ins that transformed the landscape of everyday American life. And those of us that lived it, remember signs that read “Whites only,” the segregated schools and the countless marches that eventually united and integrated society. But in order to alter peoples’ mindsets when it came to race relations, there were also those who utilized their own influence to make a bold, lasting statement. One such talent was the late Lena Horne, whose sheer existence changed the way we view African-American women forever.

(NNPA)—After pretending to be seriously considering up to 10 people for appointment to the Supreme Court, including two African-American women, President Obama did what most of us predicted all along: He selected Solicitor General Elena Kagan to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens. I wrote more than a month ago that Kagan is a less than ideal appointment and nothing in recent weeks has changed my opinion.

On May 4, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered that the undeservedly little-known Pittsburgh African-American pioneer George Boyer Vashon be admitted to the state bar 132 years after his death. Pittsburghers deserve to know the details of this remarkable local son’s life and contributions.

My own recollection of the name Vashon dates to more than 50 years ago and not in Pittsburgh but in my hometown of St. Louis. But I never heard or read his name in New York City, where I later grew up and where he took the bar, becoming the first Black licensed attorney in New York State. Nor did I come across his name or account of his life in Syracuse, where I have lived full-time and part-time for 33 years and where Vashon first practiced law.

Solicitor General of the United States Elena Kagan has been, thanks to her recent nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, thrust into the spotlight. The media wants to learn more about her while Congress is unearthing her background to see if she’s fit to serve on the nation’s highest court. While Kagan waits to see if she’ll secure the spot, many are left wondering if her time serving as a clerk to former Supreme Court justice and civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall has in any way shaped her legal and world views. To conservatives, any influence Marshall may have had would be a bad thing. Champions of justice, however, hope Kagan has retained some of Marshall’s perspectives.